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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29210157">A Lovely First Date</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yulia914/pseuds/yulia914'>yulia914</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Inkopolis Rhapsody [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Splatoon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Mostly Fluff, Occasional Deep Thoughts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:09:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,559</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29210157</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yulia914/pseuds/yulia914</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Off the Hook goes on their first date! Marina evades a nosy inkling and later, takes her date somewhere special.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Marina/Pearl (Splatoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Inkopolis Rhapsody [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2110266</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A cute story of Off the Hook's first date! Marina dodges her past and a nosy inkling to try to make it special for her crush.</p><p>Hope you all enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Daybreak.</p><p>The sky’s turning purple as the night starts to leave Inkopolis. In the apartment of one Marina Iida, the tall, pajama-clad octoling gets up to use the restroom. As she heads back to bed, she hears familiar snoring from the kitchen.</p><p>
  <em>Wait, the kitchen? She didn’t...</em>
</p><p>Marina’s rubbing her eyes as she moves towards the snoring. And sure enough, she’s greeted by a strange sight: a table littered with sheet music, handwritten lyrics, a laptop, a mic, half-eaten cookies, a shotglass, and a short inkling still in her streetwear sitting with her face on the table to the side. Her mouth is wide open and pooling drool.</p><p>Marina can’t help but giggle. <em>Honey, you should have woke</em><em>n</em><em> me up, I would have set something </em><em>up </em><em>for you.</em></p><p>She clears the couch and goes over to pick her girlfriend up, all while marveling at the fact that this inkling with seemingly limitless energy was so profoundly asleep. Making careful moves as to not bang Pearl’s arms against the table or walls, she carries her with one arm under her knees and the other under her shoulders. At the couch, Marina is about to put Pearl down when she feels her move. Pearl shifts slightly inward and slings her arm around Marina’s shoulder.</p><p>The octoling gets this smile on her face and a look like she just wants to eat Pearl up.</p><p>Pearl is gently placed on the couch as her arms hang off the side of the couch. She is still profoundly asleep and doesn’t notice when Marina covers her with a blanket and crouches down to admire her lovely girlfriend.</p><p>
  <em>I’m so sorry for putting you through so much and taking care of me. It’s obviously taking a toll on you even if you don’t want to show it.</em>
</p><p>She bends over to give Pearl a soft kiss on her forehead. The inkling remains in deep sleep.</p><p>“I love you so much. Thank you for being so patient with me.”</p><p>She then heads back to her bedroom and her inkling starts drooling on the couch.</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p> </p><p>It has been a few days since their grand concert at Starfish Mainstage and about three weeks since the unfortunate accident that hospitalized Marina and led to the best friends declaring their true feelings to each other. Between Marina’s slow recovery, the concert prep, the work on the new album, and the concert itself, it has been a whirlwind of activity that didn’t exactly leave much quality relationship time.</p><p>Precious free time was mostly spent at Pearl’s apartment since Pearl had much more available at her place to take care of a weakened, recovering octoling. Tonight was the first night at Marina’s apartment in some time and it was spent on script writing for the news show and their next album.</p><p>That, plus them agreeing on taking their relationship slow meant that they hadn’t really done much other than work during their supposed quality time.</p><p>Marina gets up and heads to the kitchen to prepare a bowl a cereal for each of them. She notices that her inkling is still sound asleep on the couch.</p><p>
  <em>Still? We got to get ready for work, Pearlie.</em>
</p><p>She shakes her awake and reminds them of their day ahead. Pearl’s confused as to how she got to the couch but quickly heads to the bathroom to start her day.</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t get cooked, stay Off the Hook!”</p><p>The crowd of people at the Inkopolis Square studio cheer as they head off to the open stages for qualifiers. The studio staff cuts filming and starts discussing what is needed to prepare for the next round of filming. Off the Hook walks to the side of the studio room to take a short break.</p><p>“Reena, can you imagine how crazy that will be? Ranked battle championships! That’s like a… four-thlon!”</p><p>Marina’s stuck between giggling at Pearl’s silliness or mocking her for saying that.</p><p>“Thankfully, we’re not in charge of it. The Turf Wars Committee isn’t really the best at managing things like this. I can’t wait for the inevitable--”</p><p>Pearl then notices their band manager just point and signal her over. She responds by pointing at him with a different finger.</p><p>“Pearl, stop antagonizing Raymond. Go see what he needs.”</p><p>“Ugh, fine.”</p><p>Marina watches Pearl walk away, the bottom part of her white outfit swaying like a bell in the wind. And she once again feels those butterflies in her stomach. She wishes she could show Pearl how appreciative she was for everything that the inkling had been doing for her in recent weeks. Maybe on their next date they can--</p><p>
  <em>Wait. We haven’t had a proper first date.</em>
</p><p>Marina wonders if all the various things they did before their confessions counted and eventually settles on thinking no. But it was true that they hadn’t gone on a real date as a couple. And she wanted to make it extra special for her best friend. And luckily, they have some free time later that week! Not much, and they have to get up early for work the next day, but it’s enough. The goldfish in Marina’s head start swimming with ideas of how to meticulously plan the date when she hears a familiar voice. She turns and sees someone in a pink sweater and black jeans greeting some of the studio staff.</p><p>“CALLIE!”</p><p>“Hey, Marina!”</p><p>Marina and Callie run up and give each other a hug. Both have been friends since they were formally introduced back when the Squid Sisters passed the news gig over to Off the Hook. Marina was so nervous and excited back then as she is a huge fan of the Squid Sisters, while Callie, who enjoyed hip-hop acts and thought that Marina showed amazing skill as a DJ, was thrilled to meet her. Years later, they have become reliable friends.</p><p>“What brings you here?”</p><p>“Well, I shouldn’t tell anyone so soon, but I’m testing the waters a bit for a comeback. First stop is the Inkopolis News Studio! Wanted to say hi to the staff before I speak to the president.”</p><p>Marina is overjoyed at hearing the news and then realizes that she hadn’t actually spoken to Callie in a long time, and had only seen her once since Callie’s kidnapping in Octo Valley. That one time was when Callie was hospitalized right after her rescue as a precaution. They weren’t able to talk much.</p><p>“Is Pearl around?”</p><p>“Yeah she’s working something out with our band manager.”</p><p>“Aww, wanted to congratulate you both on that amazing concert! It’s gotten so hard to speak to you two since you got so successful, huh?”, Callie teases with a mischievous smile. Sometimes she can’t help but poke fun at the sweet octoling.</p><p>“Callie, I’m so sorry I haven’t kept in touch. It’s been really wild and I didn’t want to bother you while you got readjusted--”</p><p>“It’s fine! I understand. We’d go months without talking to friends due to work stuff. You should hear how mad Sheldon gets at times. It’s just the reality of this job. But still, a text--”<br/>“SORRY!!!”</p><p>“Heehee~”</p><p>Marina gets flustered but decides it’s as good a time as any to start apologizing.</p><p>“Callie, before you say anything, if Pearl and I had known what happened, we would have helped out. We were just told ‘Callie disappeared’ and thought it was some weird stunt. Then suddenly you and that Zapfish were back! So confusing but we didn’t hear the full story until Sheldon returned.”</p><p>Callie nods her head as thoughts swirl of the incident, and tries to think of a way to inform Marina without revealing too much. Takes a bit too long and Marina notices, who thinks that the questions are hitting a raw spot for the inkling and changes the topic to not offend her idol.</p><p>“Hey, I figured you might be the best person to ask, now that you’re here. I’m thinking of taking someone out on a date, and I’m not too familiar with restaurants that can impress like that.”</p><p>Callie has a wide smile on her face and immediately remembers what she saw at the concert: Pearl, who was facing away from the cameras, mouthed out «My love» in octarian to Marina. Callie was in a reserved spot on the side of the stage, and was most likely the only person in that reserved section that caught it that also knows octarian. The concert staff (and any employed octolings) would not have been looking as they were setting up the props for the next song. Being an experienced performer, she enjoys seeing those little non-scripted moments that make up a concert and knows how to find them. But this time, she got way more than expected. And now she wants to tease and pry some info to sate her curiosity.</p><p>“Oh my, 99% of Inkopolis would kill to be in the shoes of that person. To be taken out on a sweet, romantic dinner by the sexy and lovely Marina Iida? Please tell me it’s me, I’m kinda hungry right now.”</p><p>“NO! STOP IT.” Marina’s blushing makes Callie laugh outright.</p><p>“Ah I get ya. Who am I fighting for the honors?”</p><p>“Callie...”</p><p>“Can I at least get a consolation prize?”</p><p>“You are out of control!”</p><p>Callie stops her teasing and starts her prying.</p><p>“Is it someone I know? Maybe if it is, I can give a better recommendation.”</p><p>“...No. I met... him... not too long ago and we hit it off really well.” Marina knows the truth will get out one day, but she isn’t ready to tell people about her and Pearl.</p><p>“...Oh. OK!” <em>Guess I imagined that at the concert. </em>“Hmmm… hey there’s a place called ‘Safet’ I went to once a long time ago. Marie’s been there recently on business meetings but she says that it can be pretty romantic if you go for the isolated booths on the second floor. I gotta ask Marie for the reservation number. I can get that for you, lemme just hit her up.”</p><p>Marina thanks her as Callie makes the call. All while looking down the hall to watch Pearl talking to Raymond. She doesn’t realize the soft smile she gets looking at Pearl. But a nosier inkling does.</p><p>“She says that it isn’t too hard to get a reservation on a couple of days notice although you might want to move on it now. You said Thursday at 6pm, right?”</p><p>Just then, the studio director rings a bell. “FIVE MINUTES! PLEASE GET TO YOUR SPOTS.”</p><p>“Sorry Callie, we have to start filming the channel commercials. Ugh these always take so long.”</p><p>“You want me to make the reservations? I’ll put it under your name.”</p><p>“Would you? That time works. Thanks so much Callie!”</p><p>They hug as Marina rushes over to meet Pearl at the stage windows. Callie’s mischievous smile returns as she notices the subtle body language between the two. Those reactions that only exist between two people in love.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>You are such a liar, Ms. Iida.</em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Back at Marina’s apartment, Pearl flops onto the couch and almost passes out. Filming for the commercials took longer than expected and the moon was well in the sky when they finally got out of the studio. Marina, who’s changing in her room, gets a reply text back from Callie who confirmed that the reservation was made hours ago. After a sigh of relief and a change of pants, she gets back to the living room and meets a Pearl Houzuki who’s complaining nonstop about the filming.</p><p>“Honey, go change. I want to talk to you about something. But I need you in your pajamas for this. Please don’t sleep in your work clothes again.”</p><p>As Pearl leaves, Marina wonders if her date plans will work. Sure, the restaurant is set, but her plans after will be dicey. Normally, she would not even consider going “there” as it can cause her some problems, but it’s for Pearl and she wants this to be special for both of them.</p><p>
  <em>She’ll always be worth it.</em>
</p><p>“So, whatcha want to talk about, babe? I promise you that Raymond didn’t say anything important, as usual.”</p><p>“No it’s not that. I’m… would you like to go out on Thursday evening?”</p><p>Pearl stares at Marina and starts laughing until she’s rolling on the ground. Marina just gives her an annoyed look. “You’re so formal! This is the funniest shit... What, did ya run outta embroidered envelopes to have hand delivered through a butler?”</p><p>“I will kick you. Get up.”</p><p>The inkling wipes her tears as she looks at her octoling. “Well, yeah of course. It’s just… I was waiting until we weren’t so busy to finally take you out somewhere romantic.”</p><p>“Honey, we would have waited for a long time. And… I want to have that memory with you.”</p><p>Pearl gets sheepish as she scooches next to the sitting octoling. Carressing the octoling’s tentacles brings a grin to both of their faces. “You know, I was the one supposed to take you out on dates. It was my promise to you.”</p><p>Marina remembers being on a hospital bed, listening in while Pearl (believing that Marina was dying) was pouring her soul out. It was the most sweet and gentle she had ever seen Pearl.</p><p>“You’ll have many years to make it up to me. How about that other promise?”</p><p>“Well, <b>that</b> I can do now.”</p><p>Straddling the sitting octoling, she moves her face right in front of Marina. A second passes to realize how close she came to losing her and how appreciative she is for their life now. A soft kiss breaks the stillness as Pearl backs away to look into her crush’s eyes.</p><p>“You’re getting stingy with your affection~♥”</p><p>“You’re getting greedy, Reena.”</p><p>Pearl smiles and swoops in to give her a deeper kiss. Tongues start to swirl as Marina puts her hands on Pearl’s waist to pull her in. Marina notices a certain look in Pearl’s eyes and sees those eyes move to her sensitive neck. The ensuing neck kisses has the octoling puts her hand on her inking’s head as her breathing gets heavier and her tentacles start quivering and reaching for the inkling. It becomes a light moan when Pearl reaches under Marina’s shirt to caress her stomach.</p><p>She then immediately stops. “Oh my, I got too carried away. Wasn’t that fun!”</p><p>She smirks as she sees her octoling with labored breathing and a massive blush on her face. Her tentacles are tightened coils at this point.</p><p>“I’ll getcha some water, ya look like ya need it.”</p><p>Marina watches as her inkling leaves. Every cell in her body wants desperately to forget their agreement and just jump Pearl.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>She did that on purpose. I’ll get her back one day.</em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Safet, huh…”</p><p>6pm on Thursday has finally arrived after some long work hours. The couple excitedly makes it to the restaurant entrance as Pearl looks up at the modernist sign. She’s dressed up with proper black dress pants and a light pink button-down shirt. Not her usual style, but she wanted to make the effort for her first date with Marina.</p><p>“I heard such good things about it! Let’s go in.”</p><p>Marina’s wearing a dazzling, tight teal dress that shows her curves well. At least she thinks so, since Pearl keeps staring when she thinks Marina isn’t noticing.</p><p>As the couple walks in, they are confronted by a large, spacious restaurant with a black and dark purple color scheme that seems to be segmented by walls that don’t quite reach that high up. The whole place is dimly lit, giving it a strong mix of eerie and romantic. It’s not hard to see how it can be seen as a great date spot, although Marina remembers hearing about Marie coming here for business meets which strikes her as weird. <em>I guess the tables themselves must be better lit.</em></p><p>“Hi, I have a reservation under my name, Marina Iida, for two.”</p><p>“Sure darling, follow me.”</p><p>They follow the hostess as she takes them along an inner path and then up the stairs. Both are mesmerized by the hostess, who is a tall, buxom inkling with a sultry walk. Her lightly swaying hips was keeping them from noticing where exactly they were going until the hostess stops.</p><p>“Here is your booth, I hope you have a pleasant evening tonight!”</p><p>The couple thank her and take their seats as they look around. The booth overlooks the bay and the massive skyscrapers of downtown Inkopolis, which provide a beautiful backdrop as the sun is setting.</p><p>Marina decides to check the odd hallway design. The whole booth section seems to be separated by walls from the first floor, as if to prevent people on the different floors from seeing each other. The side of the second floor with the booths seems to be on top of a recess, as there is a lower pathway guarded by railing. An octoling busser rushes though one end and takes the doors, almost to prove the point. The upper pathway is for the waiters to bring any food and drinks to the booths. The booths themselves have thick dividers which work wonders in soundproofing any discussions. Privacy is emphasized, as the only way to actually see into the booth is if you’re attending the party from the upper pathway or if you’re tall enough to catch a glimpse from the lower section. Guests can also control the lighting in the booths, which explains why Marie and others are able to have business lunches.</p><p>“Reena, this is so fancy. Almost makes my skin itch. It’s neat tho. Who recommended this?”</p><p>“Callie did!”</p><p>“Wait you told her--”</p><p>“No! No, I… didn’t…”</p><p>Marina notices Pearl’s dejected face.</p><p>“Honey, I’m sorry. I’m just not ready to tell our friends yet.”</p><p>Pearl looks at the menu and grins through the bitterness. <em>Y</em> <em>ou seem to not be ready about many things involving us huh.</em></p><p>Marina pulls up her menu as well. “Hey they got those maracuyá daiquiris you love so much!”</p><p>“Neat! I’ll try that. As for food… uhhh… What does half this shit mean?”</p><p>“Pearl, let’s not talk like that, we’re in a nice restaurant.”</p><p>Pearl frowns as her head starts hurting. Making sense of a menu from a higher-class-than-she-is-used-to restaurant was making her frustrated even when Marina started explaining some of the menu items. Not like she knew any better, but she could guess what some plates had by their descriptions. After a few minutes, the inkling waiter stops by to take their orders.</p><p>“Hello, my name is Alex, and I will be serving you this evening. Is this your first time here?”</p><p>They both nod yes as they quickly notice how buff he is through the waiter’s uniform.</p><p>“Wonderful! We always welcome new patrons. I hope we live up to your expectations. Have you had a chance to look at the menu?”</p><p>Marina replies, “We’ll have the drinks for now. But we’re still making our way through the menu options. Can we have two maracuyá daiquiris for now?”</p><p>Alex nods and takes his leave as the couple just stare at each other.</p><p>“Is everyone here so hot? He coulda easily been a model.”</p><p>“I think I know why Callie recommended this place.”</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p> </p><p>“Seaweed Salmon Fillets sounds pretty good. Lemme try that.”</p><p>The couple give their orders and sit at the windows next to each other, watching the sunset through the Inkopolis skyscrapers. Pearl leans on Marina’s right arm while drinking.</p><p>“This maracuyá daiquiri is amazing.”</p><p>“Enjoy it, you’re not getting more. We have to go somewhere else after this.”</p><p>Pearl frowns as she finishes the drink and looks up at her girlfriend. The radiant colors of sunset dancing on the dark tones of her skin. The view fills her with warmth and makes her forget how moody she was earlier.</p><p>“Hey Reena. How did you… know? Like, about me. When did your feelings start?”</p><p>Marina realizes she never quite told Pearl the whole story.</p><p>“I… don’t really know. I remember when we first met at Mount Nantai, and… feeling butterflies in my stomach watching you do those vocal exercises. I thought you were so attractive. And when you took me in and helped me with so much, I saw how kind and wonderful you really are. Even if you hide it from almost everyone. And of course, how passionate and energetic you are when performing. I always wanted you around and was so happy when you agreed to form the band. And when we got the news gig-- Every success meant that you would stay. And… I guess at some point ‘wanting you around’ became ‘wanting to make you mine’. The day I noticed, I got scared. Scared that you wouldn’t feel the same way, or that you might find someone more permanent before I said anything. And I got scared each time I saw you date someone else.”</p><p>“Reena…”</p><p>“You remember Azure? She was the first girl you dated after we became friends. The reason why I was so supportive of it was because this was how I learned you liked girls and it felt like I got a window to who you really are. I didn’t realize it at the time, but part of me was happy because I felt like I could one day have a chance.”</p><p>Pearl looks up at Marina, and sees her looking back with moistened eyes.</p><p>“You mean so much, and that paralyzed me. Couldn’t say anything of course, because if you ran off then I’d lose my best friend. Eventually I thought I made peace and even dated for some time. You were so happy that I was out having fun. And it was fun! But… I could never get you out of my mind and it wasn’t fair to the people I dated.”</p><p>Pearl chuckled and replies, “If you only knew what I was going through when you were dating.”</p><p>“Really? Like wh--”</p><p>“Sorry to interrupt, ladies.”</p><p>The waiter Alex is back with their food and Pearl could hear the sizzling. Her thoughts switch to food as she scuttles over to the plate and watches the salmon call out to her. Marina just giggles. She knows what she’s getting into.</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p> </p><p>“That was so good! How do they make seaweed so crispy?”</p><p>Marina smiles as Pearl’s raving about her dish. Marina had a hankering for some rice and shrimp in pomegranate sauce and is quite amazed at how filling it felt. Pretty soon, both sit next to each other, watching the tail end of the sunset as the lit skyscrapers dominate the night sky.</p><p>“You never got to finish. What were you doing while I was dating? That was when you just stopped seeing people, right?”</p><p>Pearl was hoping she wouldn’t bring it up.</p><p>“Ugh. I was… moody.”</p><p>“Well, that’s always you.”</p><p>“Wow, where’s all those compliments from a few minutes ago?”</p><p>*<em> giggle* </em></p><p>“Anyway, yeah. I was... happy at first that you were finally living your life, but when it sunk in, I got so upset. Didn’t understand why. Smiled through the pain every time I saw ya. When you’d tell me about your dates, and whatcha did. How excited you always were. Took me so long until I admitted to myself what those emotions actually were. Knew ya don’t care about gender since you were all over the map with your dates, and I think you told me about an ex from years before you met me who’s a woman. And I came <b>so close </b>to telling ya. So close, Marina! Went to your apartment a few times completely hyping myself up, telling myself that this was the time I would confess. But time and time again, I would see you and be scared of you saying no, and getting uncomfortable around me. I was so scared and decided to just leave you alone. And… that was probably bad because it led to us fighting all the time and--”</p><p>Both stop for a second as they remember what occurred before the concert. How they fought and their friendship seemed to be falling apart until an awful accident got them to re-evaluate everything.</p><p>“—but now, I have you, Reena. And I couldn’t be happier.”</p><p>The octoling looks at her crush with a deep smile. And, without thinking, their faces close the distance against the backdrop of the Inkopolis skyline.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Phase 2 of our first date! Do I get to transform into a more badass version of myself?”</p><p>After a lovely dinner at Safet, they head out to the next planned event. Arriving at Inkopolis Square, Pearl parks in their News Studio spot where they change to more casual outfits in the studio offices. Pearl is still unaware of what the next thing actually is and keeps bugging her date about it every few minutes. Marina ignores her and is hoping that this goes well. She wants to show Pearl this small piece of her past.</p><p>The brisk early Autumn wind and the clear night sky keeps the couple company as they walk the streets of the Square. Other people head to the stores or to the Turf War Committee offices to enjoy the end of the day.</p><p>“So, uh, where are we going? You been secretive about this.”</p><p>“Shhh… we’re almost there.”</p><p>Marina makes a quick turn and they finally arrive at the Octo Valley kettle.</p><p>“Wait… we’re going to the domes? I… I thought ya never wanted to go back there again?”</p><p>Marina breathes out slowly, steeling herself for the trip. Pearl is correct in that she wanted to avoid the domes as much as she could. No one in Inkopolis-- Pearl, Squid Sisters, Galleria denizens etc-- knows what her real job was before she made it to the surface. Any trip to the Domes carries a heavy risk of being identified by any ex-soldiers that knew her. While most of the common grunts didn’t know her enough to identify her, Octarian High Command certainly did. Fortunately, they stayed mostly underground after Octavio’s second capture and the subsequent dissolution of the military. The few that went to the surface fled from Inkopolis to other nation-states, not even caring about a rising-star DJ with the same name and similar look as a former gifted weapons engineer. But either way, there was a risk that she’d be exposed in the domes.</p><p>It terrified Marina.</p><p>But there was something special there that she wanted to share with her best friend.</p><p>So she smiles at Pearl, steps on the kettle, and holds out her hand. “Do you trust me, Pearlie?”</p><p>Pearl nods and grabs her hand, as they shrink into their cephalopod forms and enter the Kettle Transit System.</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p> </p><p>Zuril Dome 2.</p><p>A sparsely populated dome, located remotely from the dome clusters towards the center of the underground system. Usually it’s nothing more than simple country people farming mushrooms and whatever they can grow in artificial light. Due to this isolation, it became a place to host illicit events. In response, King Octavio had ordered some cursory patrols to curb the activity, which is how a young, newly minted soldier named Marina Iida came to be at the dome, working with her superior at the time.</p><p>Soldier Iida quickly discovered that the “illicit” events was just octolings running fighting competitions that, since they were outside of the military purview, was declared illegal. On the nights that it was just Marina doing rounds, she would dress in civilian clothes and head to the large storage unit to watch the fights.</p><p>The fighting mesmerized her. The talented fighters would leave a spectacle in their wake that would be talked about throughout the Zuril sector for days and the young soldier was always left wanting more. But all things come to an end and, soon enough, Marina was transferred back to Octarian HQ, where she would be discovered for her engineering prowess and promoted through the military system.</p><p>The Zuril Dome 2 kettle shakes a bit, and out pops a squid and an octopus. As they change back to bipeds, Pearl takes a look around. She’s never been in the domes and the sight is baffling to her.</p><p>“Are those… massive TV screens lining the walls? How big are they? This place looks immense!”</p><p>Marina is relieved that the old military outpost near the kettle seems to be abandoned and overgrown with grass. It makes sense that, after major dissolution, the remnants of Octavio’s loyal forces wouldn’t care about this backwater dome.</p><p>“Honey, this place is tiny. The domes get much bigger than this. Anyway let’s head out to the storage unit. How good are you at surfing inkrails?”</p><p>Pearl smirks and replies, “Are ya kiddin? This shit is my jam!”</p><p>Both slide on the inkrails as the surprised inkling notices that they’re actually very far away from the bottom of the dome.</p><p>“ARE WE ON FLOATING ROCKS? THE FUCK IS THIS?!”</p><p>As they hop off at the next island, Marina teases a bit. “Aww, you afraid of heights? You want me to carry you?”</p><p>“...N-no. Just wasn’t expecting it I guess. I-I got this.”</p><p>Marina smirks as they jump on the next inkrail. Soon enough, they get to the storage unit which is considerably more crowded than the rest of the dome.</p><p>Pearl looks in awe as the storage unit seems to be very brightly lit from the inside and there is a large poster on the side near the entrance. She struggles to read the octarian script and figures that she’ll pick up on what it is later. At the ticket booth, Marina speaks to the agent.</p><p>«Good evening! I hope we’re not too late to get two tickets for the fights tonight!»</p><p>Pearl, who can otherwise speak and understand octarian competently enough, is surprised to hear «fights». Marina hands over the money for the tickets and they walk over to the entrance.</p><p>“Reena, did you say «fights»?”</p><p>“Ugh I wanted to wait until we were in to surprise you, but yeah! You’ll love it.”</p><p>Everything Pearl sees inside is a shock to the system.</p><p>The massive interior of the storage unit, the almost completely octoling crowds speaking octarian, a few excited kids with shirts of what Pearl assumed were fighters, the strange shapes and designs of mechanical things like the soda dispensers and the speaker system, the strange but rhythmic booming music being played as the pre-show. It’s not that it was particularly crazy, but Pearl just never imagined any of this.</p><p>«Pearlie, do you like this place? They remodeled it from what I remember. Used to be so much dingier.»</p><p>«Y-yeah, the… lovely? No, not that. It’s cool.»</p><p>Marina loves hearing Pearl stumble a bit through octarian. Marina tried her best to teach her octarian throughout the years since Pearl had taught her inklish, but Inkopolis didn’t have too many places to utilize it. Recently, however, the new octoling immigrant crowds were giving Pearl opportunities and keeping it fresh in her mind. But Marina can’t get enough of the accent and stumble that Pearl has. She always wondered if Pearl thought the same thing when Marina was first learning inklish.</p><p>As they walk to their seats, Pearl keeps looking around and sees the walls covered with posters of what must be previous promotions. Angry faces, cool poses, ads. Soon enough, they find seats and Pearl gets a view of the empty ring. The lights and machinery above the ring are shaped odd to her.</p><p>«Reena, I can’t imagine you here. How?»</p><p>«I, uh, was passing by with a friend many years ago and we caught a show! I had so much fun I came back a few times. I loved it, it was one of the few truly happy memories I had living here.»</p><p>Pearl <b>cannot</b> know the truth. Marina will do anything to prevent it.</p><p>«And anyway, this place was a lot different. Very dirty and standing room only. Must have gotten remodeled after the domes fell out of military control.»</p><p>«I see. What kind of fights?»</p><p>«Yeah I should explain that, right? You’re going to be so confused otherwise.»</p><p>Marina goes on to explain that, if you are a tall enough octoling, you can function in society in octopus form. It takes quite a bit of training, but you can train the eight arms to move you around fluidly and grab things without any issue. It can also be done if you aren’t so tall, but octoling society designs everything around the grasp of a biped’s hands and the arms of not-tall octolings in octopus form just aren’t big or long enough to grasp well. Not to mention that the training for true octodexterity is notoriously difficult and most give up to begin with.</p><p>«Wait, I remember you showing me a video of an octopus chef.»</p><p>«EXACTLY like that! That chef moved around on 3 arms and held utensils and food with the other 5. He blew my mind at how good his octodexterity was. So basically this fighting is that but instead of cooking, it’s fighting.»</p><p>«Eloquent Reena.»</p><p>«Shhh, the lights are dimming!»</p><p>The crowd quiets as the lights dim and the octoling announcer takes center stage.</p><p>«Octos! The night you’ve been waiting for… REMATCH! REVENGEANCE! The last time they met, the victor was decided in the last seconds of the last round! Will we be on the edge of our seats again? Stick around and find out! In the red corner, the deadly dame with the deadly uppercuts to boot, Zuril’s own: TYPHOON!»</p><p>«And in the blue corner, the victor of the last match, who will stop at nothing to maintain her winning streak! Hailing from the Utrek sector: ILABA!»</p><p>The crowd cheers as the lights come back on and the two fighters touch arms as a sign of respect. The bell rings and the fight starts with an intense flurry of punches and arm whips.</p><p>«Reena, what do you know about the fighters?»</p><p>«Nothing, actually. I think they started after my visits here. I remember one of the color commentators tho. He’s so funny, he makes any boring match feel hype.»</p><p>Pearl sees how into the fight and the atmosphere her girlfriend is. It’s something she’s seen before, but the passion still makes the inkling swoon. But this feels… different. While almost everything they had been through together was essentially from Pearl’s world, this was something from Marina’s past. Pearl feels so special as she realizes that this was Marina’s way of including her in something dear to the octoling for once.</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>«Hey babe, where is the restroom?»</p><p>«Oooo. OK I’ll go with you.»</p><p>«Just tell me, you don’t have to get up during the match.»</p><p>«No, uh, I really need to go also.»</p><p>Pearl thinks it’s kind of odd but they both head out. Since it’s the middle of the match, there aren’t any lines but Pearl hears some snickering behind her. She ignores it and enters with Marina. Once inside, Pearl hears a conversation outside her stall.</p><p>«Inklings found this place? Can’t they stay on the surface?»</p><p>«The few that come here don’t even bother to learn the language. It pisses me off to see them. That short one that’s in here now probably got lost or somethin’.»</p><p>«She’s in this stall, right?»</p><p>Pearl now realizes why Marina was so insistent on going with her.</p><p>«You look like you’re just standing around gossiping. How about you leave?» Pearl recognizes that voice at least.</p><p>«You her caretaker or somethin’? What do you care?»</p><p>«This inkling didn’t do anything to anyone here. You want to start fights and have the promoters close this place as a result?»</p><p>The silence is heavy in the air.</p><p>«Fine. You know they’re the reason why we were stuck down here, right?»</p><p>«She isn’t 70 years old so I doubt she did anything.»</p><p>Pearl hears a sneer and the doors close.</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p> </p><p>Back at the seats, Marina is profusely apologizing. Pearl keeps telling her not to worry and that she totally would have won the fight against the two women.</p><p>«Most octolings don’t care anymore, but a lot still harbors anger towards inklings. If there were more inklings down here or if they visited the surface, everyone would see how wrong they are about each other.»</p><p>«It’s alright, Reena. I know inklings that are the same way about the octoling immigrants. Remember how I fought people who would talk shit about you?»</p><p>«*<em> giggle </em>* When did you learn the word for shit? Anyway, you actually fought. And I had to take care of your cuts and bruises every time! You could have used words to avoid that.»</p><p>«Boring...»</p><p>The lights dim for the next match and all eyes are back on the ring.</p><p>«Octos! The last match of the day. There’s been headlines made regarding this matchup, and it is now the day! In the red corner, we have… the ancient beast. Pin one arm, and three more take it’s place! We present… THE HYDRA!»</p><p>«And… last but certainly not least. Reigning champion of the Zuril Domes. What can take on a beast? Another beast. We present… DURIAT!»</p><p>As the crowd cheers, the energy of the arena starts to sizzle in anticipation.</p><p>«I’ve heard of Duriat from some octolings not too long ago. She’s supposed to be like a spinning top with her insane speed.»</p><p>And sure enough, the fight starts and both fighters move so fast that Pearl can barely keep up. Duriat leaping in the air and whipping all eight arms which Hydra seems to easily block and counter at will. Neither can get close to each other as they scramble to reposition. Soon enough, Hydra’s thrown to the side and gets out of a vicious attack. Little by little, they chip at each other.</p><p>Pearl and Marina are both mesmerized by the action. Watching the fighters take their hits and brush them off. Getting into and out of pins. As the 3<sup> rd </sup> round winds down, there is no clear winner as both maintain their intense energy trying to find an opening. Until Duriat is able to sweep Hydra off of the ground, slam her into the ground, and starts laying in the punches. The crowd and the couple starts screaming and going wild.</p><p>The bell rings and Duriat holds onto her title. Marina is cheering so loudly and energetically that she doesn’t realize that she’s grabbed Pearl and is squeezing her tight into her chest.</p><p>«Can’t… breathe… but… nice… death…»</p><p>«Pearlie! So sorry!»</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p> </p><p>Back in Inkopolis, Pearl drives back to Marina’s apartment and they’re hyped about the fights. Marina starts telling Pearl about some of the fights she saw years ago while she was “passing by”, with a sense of nostalgia that appears so foreign to Pearl.</p><p>“Didja ever think of getting into that?”</p><p>“Oh no. I’m barely tall enough for octodexterity, but even then the training is grueling. Some have a natural talent for it, but I certainly don’t. I’m better off being a musician.”</p><p>Pearl is a bit terrified at the words ‘barely tall enough’. Implying that there are many others that tower over someone she thought was really tall to begin with.</p><p>“Hey, I’m really happy ya brought me there tonight. Loved it! And… I know how much it means to you. Ya know, we could have always gone there if you wanted.”</p><p>Marina frets a bit. She doesn’t want to explain the truth of how she saw those fights in the first place, and adding more details to her lie would make it transparent. So she decides to feed Pearl’s ego.</p><p>«You know, your octarian has gotten so much better since the last time I heard you speak it. Where are you practicing this? It’s not with me, I know that.»</p><p>«Sometimes, I go to octoling markets and just listen and talk to people there. It cheers them to hear me talk in their language. I guess it’s like those women said, most inklings don’t bother to learn. I might not have if it wasn’t for you.»</p><p>«Aww how sweet! Here I was, thinking that you were seeing some octo girl on the side.»</p><p>«That too, but don’t worry, she’s not as pretty as you.»</p><p>«Don’t think that I won’t smack you just because you’re driving, Pearlie.»</p><p>«Heehee, I like you jealous.»</p><p>Marina smiles, and then thinks of those two women that would have surely roughed Pearl up. She never felt that intense hatred towards inklings that others do, but it was such a common thought in the domes back then to just dislike inklings. She wonders: what if she had that hatred? Would she have ever left the domes? What would her response have been to meeting Pearl? Do they still become coworkers, friends, something more? Does she learn to let go of the hate, or does it consume her and Pearl becomes nothing more than some random inkling she sees at Mount Nantai and then never again?</p><p>She sees her inkling’s huge grin and decides not to think about it anymore.</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Back in the apartment, the two are drained from the evening’s activities and are getting ready to sleep. Pearl’s clearing the couch and gets her blanket out. Marina stands off to the side near the bedroom door, just watching her.</p><p>
  <em>She doesn’t ask anymore. She really just wants me to be comfortable with her. But… what do I want? Do I want her to continue sleeping on the couch?</em>
</p><p>“Reena! Helloooooo.”</p><p>“Oh yes, what’s wrong?”</p><p>“I was just wondering. I know ya didn’t want to tell Callie, and ya ain’t want me telling anyone either. But… don’tcha think that people are gonna see us on what are obvious dates?”</p><p>Marina stares in silence. Pearl just tilts her head and waves her hands. «Hey! How tired are you?» Octarian doesn’t do the trick either. So she just walks up and gives her a deep kiss, to Marina’s surprise.</p><p>«You tired. Go to bed, girlfriend. I’ll see you in the morning.»</p><p>As Pearl turns as leaves, she feels Marina grabbing onto her arm. “Babe?”</p><p>Marina pulls her in and drapes her arms behind Pearl. The inkling isn’t quite sure what’s happening, and Marina has been quiet this whole time.</p><p>“Babe, you’re scaring me. Did I do something wrong?”</p><p>“No! No… Pearlie. Do you love me?”</p><p>“Seriously? What more do I have to do? Are you worried I’m leaving again?”</p><p>“I… There’s parts of my past that made me… caring for people like this difficult for a long time. And you tunneled through all that and made me fall so hard for you. And I keep thinking that one day it will all be gone. And it makes me worried sometimes and… I just don’t want people asking me about us. I want this to be just us. Like how eating in that booth, watching the fights was something that was just us. I know it’ll get out one day, and we’ll have to address it to whoever, but… I want you to myself.”</p><p>The inkling sees something in her octoling’s eyes that almost appears like sadness for a split second.</p><p>“I want you to myself. I… want you.”</p><p>Marina pulls Pearl up for kisses. Which become deeper kisses. Which becomes a full makeout as they stumble and fall into Marina’s room. They’re laughing as Marina gets up and pulls Pearl to her bed.</p><p>«Hey, what other words did you learn?»</p><p>«I don’t want you to smack me!»</p><p>Pearl smiles as Marina pins her down on the bed. She recognizes that look on Marina’s face, and it is usually followed by one of the two stopping things before it gets too heavy. Neither intend on stopping anything this time.</p><p>«I got a phrase you might be interested in.» Marina whispers the phrase in Pearl’s ear, which quickly turns red when she understands it.</p><p>“Reena, I know what most of that means! And you’re breathing hard on my ears.”</p><p>Marina takes it as a sign to nibble on Pearl’s ears, which seems to turn Pearl into pudding. She struggles to recompose herself from the assault. “Reena… wait… ya sure about this? I know ya wanted to take things slow and we ain’t even slept in the same bed-- OH FUCK OK you really are.”</p><p>The taller octoling then carresses the shorter inkling’s tentacles with her other hand. She swoops in to give Pearl a heart-felt kiss, showing her how much she needs her right then and there. The shorter inkling lets her worries melt away as she gets up to return the kiss.</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p> </p><p>Daybreak.</p><p>The sky’s turning purple as the night starts to leave Inkopolis. In the apartment of one Marina Iida, the tall, pajama-clad octoling gets up to use the restroom. As she heads back to bed, she hears familiar snoring from the bedroom.</p><p>She stands near the bed and sees her now lover, sprawled across the bed, wearing pajamas, drooling into her pillow. She moves Pearl’s arms and slides under the blanket, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. She flips to be the little spoon and feels Pearl shift a bit, who then slings her arm across Marina’s waist. The octoling smiles as she drifts back to sleep.</p><p>
  <em>This is perfect. Except I need a bigger bed.</em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It's a bit early for Valentine's Day, but here's my contribution! </p><p>I hope you all enjoyed it.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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